The Naked Politics blog is repeating the reporting of the National Enquirer about Sarah Palin having an affair with former Miami Heat basketball player Glenn Rice.

It is on the FRONT PAGE of The Herald website.

So as a journalist, I ask:

Do we know this story to be TRUE? Are we certain it is TRUE because weve done the work or have a reasonable certainty that is TRUE?

Did anyone actually try to confirm this story before giving it Herald front page credibility? Did anyone call Glenn Rice to get independent confirmation? He lives in Miami, you know.

Is it now OK to repeat any report from the National Enquirer on the front page of the Heralds website without actually reporting even one fact independently? The blog calls The Enquirers sources solid. How do we know the Enquirers sources  plural? And if we know the Enquirers sources, cant we work them ourselves to see if theyre truly solid?

Question: Can I repeat on my blog any allegation made by the Enquirer culled from any book just because, well, if its in a book or in the Enquirer, Herald policy is now to assume it must be true?

There have been a couple of good Enquirer stories on athletes coming from other planets. Those are in bounds now?

If this Rice story, unconfirmed and unreported by us, can be published on our site, do the alien stories not meet the same standards?

These, by the way, are my questions relative to journalism. But there are other things at play here. The Herald, like it or not, admit it or not, is widely viewed as a liberal newspaper. Palin is a conservative.

So we put this story on our website and conservatives that read us ask why The Herald didnt report the stories of President Obama being gay in 2007 and 2008? Those stories were in the Globe, a competitor to the Enquirer. The allegations were brought by the person who said he had a drug-crazed, gay affair with the President.

Obviously this is tabloid fodder. And we rightly never gave the Obama stuff any play because, I suppose, there was no confirmation or independent reporting done on the story.

So why is it OK to do the right thing on behalf of one presidential candidate having an unconfirmed affair but not on behalf of another potential presidential candidate having an unconfirmed affair?

We ignored the one back in 2008 and continue to do so to this day. But we run out and repeat the other first chance we get? They call that a double standard in my country.

And that also is bad journalism.

I remember when the Herald broke the Gary Hart affair story. Ive been proud to work at a paper that did that kind of work. But this cutting and pasting and unprincipled gossiping were doing on this National Enquirer story is a journalistic embarrassment at best and comparative agenda writing at worst.

I saw this last night on the Herald online and damn near fell out of my chair!
This writer’s assessment was the same as mine. Since when do you put this garbage on the front page of a Newspaper using the Enquirer as your source?
Such BS!!! Besides, she wasn’t married so by today’s standards, who cares?

6
posted on 09/15/2011 4:13:11 AM PDT
by marygam
((Hurry November 2012, we might not make it))

I was a columnist for the Herald from 1979-91. I saw it evolve from a semi who, what, when, where, how straight news daily into what it is today, just another arm of the regime.

Even in 91(before my FR days)I knew I had to quit, just didn't know why. I knew something was wrong somewhere. Today it's a no brainer.

A number of years ago during a stint on talk radio doing morning drive from 7-10 five days per week I used to take the Herald to work with me and dissect its liberal bias righto on the air without even reading it first, it was so bad and still is.

9
posted on 09/15/2011 4:44:05 AM PDT
by rodguy911
(FreeRepublic:Land of the Free because of the Brave--Sarah Palin 2012)

No, Armando is a definate conservative and has made that abundantly clear over the years that I have been reading him as the beat writer for the Miami Dolphins. Mando has stood up for conservative, American values for years as his parents escaped Cuba, bringing their family over to escape Castro’s tyranny. A couple years ago when his mom died he wrote a beautiful piece about the struggles of his parents sacrifice in order to raise their family and how much appreciation they have for the freedom and opportunity in America.

Don’t lay this on Armando, he is the last person who would slander Palin.

13
posted on 09/15/2011 5:11:59 AM PDT
by Finatic
(I ran out of change and have given up on hope. FUBO, I am so sick of your sorry a$$ you effin punk)

I’m just saying this has been going on for years and these guys—liberal and conservative—have worked there and supported the paper. Now he is surprised by this? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy he’s taking a stand, but he works for an organization that has been slandering conservatives for years.

14
posted on 09/15/2011 5:20:37 AM PDT
by Opinionated Blowhard
("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")

“The Left’s own columnists are even gagging at the stench of their rags’ own behavior with respect to Sarah Palin.”

I like how he points out that his paper did not print the stuff on Obama being a homosexual that was in the Enquirer. Double standard as always. Hearsay is published as fact if it is against a conservative, but even facts (other stuff not the homosexual stuff) about a liberal are not published.

17
posted on 09/15/2011 5:43:00 AM PDT
by Sola Veritas
(Trying to speak truth - not always with the best grammar or spelling)

They are reporting on that particular date because they are racists. They are playing the race card via the back door. It is that simple. The writer of the story is unhappy with the possibilty of a good looking white female being friends with a black. It was done for election purposes.

The most contreversial topics that Armando covers at the Miami Herald are whether or not Chad Henne is a lost cause (apparently not after his last game) and whether or not Tony Sparano's fat butt should be fired (apparently "yes" after the last season and "yes" after the last game).

Armando is a conservative. As the Dolphins reporter, he did not have to stick up for Palin and defend her from the political writers, ..... but he did.

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